Pods of killer whales are once again attacking boats along the coast of Spain, striking fear into the hearts of local sailors.
As Live Science reports, the orcas have been singling out sailboats and tearing off their rudders, again drawing attention to the large sea mammals’ changing behavior, with experts suggesting that orcas are teaching each other how to take down sailing vessels.
While scientists are still trying to figure out why exactly the orcas have it out for boats at sea, some have suggested that it’s simply a sign that they’re having fun.
“They don’t care if it’s a sailboat or motorboat,” Spanish conservation group CIRCE president Renaud de Stephanis told the CBC last year. “They look for the rudders to break them. They just push it with their head until they break it and that’s it.”
Most recently, local newspaper Faro de Vigo reported over the weekend that orcas had ripped off a wooden sailing ship’s rudder off the Galician coast in northwestern Spain.
“The truth is we were very frightened; in fact, we completely freaked out when we realized the orcas were hitting the boat,” the boat’s owner Valentín Otero told the newspaper, as quoted by The Independent.
Earlier this year, a pod of orcas rammed a British sailing boat off the northern coast.
Besides becoming a terrifying new reality for sailors, the attacks highlight the highly socialized nature of killer whales.
“These are highly intelligent and inquisitive animals and they seem to be attracted to the underside of the boats and parts that are sticking out,” neuroscientist and cetacean expert Lori Marino told the BBC in 2023. “Orcas are cultural beings and often start a fad and that fad will spread through the group.”
In simple terms, tearing off rudders may just be a fun — and unusual — way to pass the time for orcas.
“It’s a very dangerous game they’re playing, obviously,” Animal Welfare Institute senior scientist Naomi Rose told the Washington Post last year. “But it’s a game.”
More on orcas: Benevolent Orca Pods Are Adopting Baby Pilot Whales in an Apparent Effort to Clean Up the Species’ Image